The Realm of Tathagatagarbha Wisdom

The Tathagatagarbha contains the seeds of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind. It can distribute these seeds in varying proportions to constitute physical bodies and the material world. When the seeds of earth are output more abundantly, constituting a larger proportion, matter becomes hard and solid. When the seeds of water are output more abundantly, constituting a larger proportion, matter becomes soft and moist. When the component of fire is delivered more abundantly, matter becomes warm and hot. When the component of wind is more abundant, matter becomes light, soft, and fluid. Therefore, when the Tathagatagarbha creates our bones, nails, hair, flesh, and tendons, it outputs more seeds of earth. He knows exactly how much to output, but we do not.

At that time, there was no so-called "us" in existence; we depended entirely on Him for creation. At that stage, the conscious mind had not yet been born. Even now, though we possess consciousness, we remain ignorant of this matter. Only the Tathagatagarbha discerns the karmic seeds; only He knows this. Similarly, He knows precisely how much of the seeds of water, fire, and wind to output. No one teaches or instructs Him, for there is no separate "who" involved; it is solely through His discernment of karmic seeds that He knows how to accomplish these things. When creating our blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and bone marrow, the Tathagatagarbha outputs more seeds of water, while the other seeds are output in different proportions. He knows all this.

He knows when to create what. He knows where in the body to create what. He knows what form to create, what color, whether human-shaped, animal-shaped, or non-human-shaped. He knows when the conscious mind arises. He knows when the fetus is complete and should be born. After birth, He knows all matters pertaining to the five aggregates of the physical body and how they change. He knows how it will grow and what form it will take. He knows when illness should occur. He knows when signs of aging appear, and knowing this, He manifests the signs of aging. He knows when death occurs and thus manifests the signs preceding death.

He also knows when to depart from the physical body. He knows what kind of intermediate state body will arise. He knows into which realm sentient beings should be reborn and with which parents they have karmic connections. He knows all that we do not know. He knows how the universe and the material world are created. He knows how mountains, rivers, flowers, plants, and trees come into being. He knows when the universe and material world will be destroyed and how they will be destroyed... there is nothing He does not know. Consider what we ourselves know—utter ignorance. This is the wisdom realm of the Tathagatagarbha. He is not ignorant of any dharma; He perceives all dharmas, is mindful of all dharmas, transforms all dharmas, and manifests all dharmas. His functions, virtues, and capacities are immeasurable and boundless. Only upon attaining Buddhahood will we fully comprehend all these dharmas.